Aramis Ramirez on DL; Josh Prince called up

The Brewers placed third baseman Aramis Ramirez on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with a sprained left knee, the same injury that sidelined him for two weeks during spring training. The good news is that an MRI detected no tears and the hope is that Ramirez will be able to play when those 15 days are up.

To replace Ramirez on the roster, the Brewers called up infielder/outfielder Josh Prince from Class AAA Nashville. Prince covers the club in two different ways because Ryan Braun remains sidelined with neck stiffness that is no better today than yesterday and could sideline him for several days.

Prince, in the majors for the first time, started in center for Nashville in the first game there and at shortstop in the second game.

"He can play both sides of it," said assistant general manager Gord Ash. "Braun is literally day to day. (Trainer) Dan (Wright) contacted me early today and said (Braun) would not be available. The worst-case scenario is five days."

The loss of Braun and Ramirez simultaneously wrecks the Brewers' batting order because they were the Nos. 3 and 4 hitters, respectively. For the game Saturday night against Arizona, Rickie Weeks is batting third and Alex Gonzalez fourth.

"That's a little tough," said manager Ron Roenicke. "We need everybody to swing it anyway. You can't always just count on 'Rami' and 'Braunie.' There's enough guys that are swinging it well. If the other guys start hitting like we think they can... and we need some good pitching, too.

"Certainly with 'Rami' going on the DL and 'Braunie' being down, and us going with a four-man bench anyway, it's been a little challenging. So, we'll see."

Ramirez injured the knee in the same manner as in spring training -- sliding into second base. He immediately writhed on the ground in pain and said after the game it felt worse than the spring injury. Thus, he was relieved to hear there were no tears.

"It could have been worse," said Ramirez. "Last night, I didn't feel good. It's never good to have injuries but at least it's not that serious. I'm still sore but it's not as bad.

"They had to (put him on the DL). Last time, it took me two weeks. This gives me the full 15 days to recover. You never know how long it's going to take. You can't do anything about it. You can't shoot any cortisone into it. You've just got to let it heal."

Braun, who was scratched from the lineup Friday when he suffered neck spasms, was no better Saturday night and wasn't sure when he'd be able to play again.

With Ramirez out, Roenicke moved Gonzalez there from first base, where he had been filling in, and put Yuniesky Betancourt at first base. Roenicke said he spoke to both players and said they felt more comfortable in that alignment but admitted to concern about first base going forward.

"(Martin) Maldonado can play first base; he's kind of our backup," said Roenicke. "I know we're trying to see what we can do to make sure we're covered a little bit better.

"(Prince) buys us some time. If we do make a move with somebody, he can cover us until then. Whether it's Taylor (Green, who is on the DL), it's maybe a (Blake ) Lalli. It's maybe going outside the organization. It's trying to figure out what we can do. We do have two guys here who can play it every day and Maldonado can play it from time to time. We'll just figure out where all the pieces fit.

"I think (Betancourt) kind of likes (first base). It's a new position for him. Anytime you have an infielder who's very good at what he does, I think he's comfortable playing anywhere in the infield. With 'Yuni,' it's just a matter of finding the first-base bag when you're off it a long ways.

"Alex, even though he's very good at first base, I think his comfort is always over there on the other side."

About Tom Haudricourt

Tom Haudricourt covers the Brewers and Major League Baseball. He was voted Wisconsin Sports Writer of Year for 2011 and 2012 by National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.